87th Academy Awards
Well its that time of year, the 87th Academy Awards are closing in on us and the nominees have been announced. Below is a rundown of the nominees in the 5 main categories (sorry technical/behind the scenes people) and who i think is gonna walk away with the Oscar, who might pull an upset and a few snubs of folks who should be up there but aren't.
Best Picture
- The Revenant
- Bridge of Spies
- Mad Max: Fury Road
- The Big Short
- Brooklyn
- The Martian
- Room
- Spotlight
- Brooklyn
What Will Win: "The Revenant"
What Might Win: "Spotlight"
Snubs: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Sicario", "Creed", "Straight Outta Compton", "Carol"
What an interesting mix of movies we have for the top award this year and one that still feels incomplete. Why the Academy decided to stop at 8 nominees when they are allowed to go to 10 is head scratching, even more so with the movies left out. "Star Wars: The Force Awakens", "Sicario", "Creed", "Straight Outta Compton", "Carol" all deserved a nomination and the fact two slots were left unfilled makes no sense. From a pure business sense not having "Star Wars" , "Creed" or "Straight Outta Compton" in here when all 3 were loved by audiences and critics alike is a HUGE missed opportunity in terms of ratings and interest. Not having "Sicario" or "Carol" in those spots is equally as baffling but more in the artistic sense as both movies earned spots just for being amazing movies.
Lets get back to what is nominated though. "The Revenant" is leading all movies with 12 nominations and appears poised to pull off a big sweep at the show. Its a lock for at least one acting award for DiCaprio and could pick up ones for Directing and Supporting Actor as well. That's to say nothing of all the technical awards its bound to win for cinematography and such. Its going to have a huge night which i think will conclude with the Best Picture award. "Spotlight" had all the momentum early on but has lost a ton of steam and doesn't have the buzz to pull off an upset. "Mad Max: Fury Road" being chosen is amazing, even more so when you consider it sat on the shelf for 2 years while it was worked on pre-release. Despite that the movie caught everyone by surprise over the summer and definitely earned its place here. "Bridge of Spies" is a surprise here but never count out Spielberg i guess. The other movies are all kind of in the "Happy to be nominated" mold as none have a realistic chance to win it all but its nice to dream ain't it?
Best Director
- Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu - "The Revenant"
- George Miller - "Mad Max: Fury Road"
- Adam McKay - "The Big Short"
- Lenny Abrahamson - "Room"
- Tom McCarthy - "Spotlight"
Who Will Win: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu "The Revenant"
Snubs: Ryan Coogler "Creed", Ridley Scott "The Martian", Quentin Tarantino "The Hateful Eight"
While the Academy has only given two Directors the award in back to back years (John Ford and Joseph Mankiewicz) they're going to have to do it again this year it seems. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarittu has made a classic American movie and done so in some of the harshest conditions for a movie ever. The fact him and his crew went to these locations that have never been filmed before, used no lights just natural and were able to craft this masterpiece in sub zero conditions is incredible. The notoriously and infamously hard shoot made many crew members quit but the fact AGI was able to hold this movie together while also getting the performance of a lifetime out of his star is more then deserving of the award.
As for who didn't get nominated Ridley Scott's omission is surprising since "The Martian" is a great piece of work by the director and also a very difficult technical movie. Usually a combo for a nomination. Also would have been nice to see Ryan Coogler get a nomination for "Creed", i feel that would have happened had the movie been up for Best Picture but sadly not to be.
Best Actor
- Leonardo DiCaprio - "The Revenant"
- Bryan Cranston - "Trumbo"
- Matt Damon - "The Martian"
- Eddie Redmayne - "The Danish Girl"
- Michael Fassbender - "Steve Jobs"
Who Will Win: Leonardo DiCaprio "The Revenant"
Snubs: Will Smith "Concussion", Johnny Depp "Black Mass", Michael Keaton "Spotlight"
While not quite the lock that say Heath Ledger was for "The Joker" its pretty close for Leonardo DiCaprio. NO WAY the Academy can send him home empty handed again. Not only is the entire build up to the show going to be "will Leo finally get his Oscar?" but he's incredible in the movie as well. Aside from his performance, the conditions he had to act under and the lengths he went through to make the movie are going to propel him to victory finally. The dedication he shows throughout the movie is mind blowing and should be more then enough on its own to bring home the gold.
Michael Fassbender would most likely take home the award any other year but timing is everything as they say. Matt Damon is just happy to be here and Eddie Redmayne isn't going to win twice in a row. Surprised to see Bryan Cranston get the nod mostly because "Trumbo" received a rather cold reception from critics and audiences alike but good to see him make the jump from TV to film so successfully.
The lack of nominations for either Will Smith or Johnny Depp is pretty surprising and could be a case where poor box office numbers actually did hurt them. Would have been perfect time to nominate Smith though if for no other reason then to add diversity. Leo is still gonna win easy though.
Best Actress
- Cate Blanchett - "Carol"
- Jennifer Lawrence - "Joy"
- Brie Larson - "Room"
- Charlotte Rampling - "45 Years"
- Saoirse Ronan - "Brooklyn"
Who Will Win: Cate Blanchett "Carol"
Who Might Win: Charlotte Rampling "45 Years"
Snubs: Alicia Vikander "Ex Machina", Charlize Theron "Mad Max: Fury Road"
The lead Actress category seems to be pretty cut and dry actually, Cate Blanchett is outstanding in "Carol, as she usually is, and the fact the movie was overlooked in the Best Picture category would lead me to think they'll reward it on the acting end instead. The rest of the crowd, while good, just isn't good enough or with enough buzz to take down a heavyweight like Blanchett. Would have liked to have seen Charlize Theron get the nomination over Jennifer Lawrence but other then that can't argue too much with choices.
Best Supporting Actor
- Sylvester Stallone - "Creed"
- Tom Hardy - "The Revenant"
- Christian Bale - "The Big Short"
- Mark Ruffalo - "Spotlight"
- Mark Rylance - "Bridge of Spies"
Who Will Win: Sylvester Stallone "Creed"
Who Might Win: Tom Hardy "The Revenant"
Snubs: Oscar Isaacs "Ex Machina", Idris Elba "Beasts of No Nation", Michael B. Jordan "Creed", Benicio Del Toro "Sicario"
Man oh man this category. So Sylvester Stallone i think is going to take home the trophy for his amazing return as Rocky Balboa in "Creed". He's got the nostalgia factor working for him in addition to having done an outstanding job in the movie itself. Tom Hardy has a chance to get swept up in a "Revenant" sweep and pull a dark horse win but i doubt it.
The real issue here is who wasn't nominated. No Idris Elba, Benicio Del Toro and Oscar Isaacs were all overlooked and the fact every actor nominated in all categories is white makes it even more unbelievable. All three deserved it and Benicio Del Toro/Idris Elba both were viable winners had they got the nomination. How Mark Rylance, despite being good, got nominated ahead of any of them is just criminal.
Best Supporting Actress
- Rooney Mara - "Carol"
- Jennifer Jason Leigh - "The Hateful Eight"
- Rachel McAdams - "Spotlight"
- Alicia Vikander - "The Danish Girl"
- Kate Winslet - "Steve Jobs"
Who Will Win: Rooney Mara "Carol"
Who Might Win: Kate Winslet "Steve Jobs"
Snubs: Helen Mirren "Trumbo"
Another pretty easy race for the ladies side to call here, Rooney Mara could have been nominated for Best Actress so the fact she's in this category makes her a virtual lock. Kate Winslet got the win at the Golden Globes though and the picture of her and DiCaprio both holding statues after the show could be enticing to the Academy. Still look for Mara to get the win.
Conclusion
Overall a solid mix of nominees between the fan-friendly and critic friendly. The lack of diversity in the Acting nominations is worrisome but at the end of the day probably wouldn't have altered the eventual winners anyway so not gonna worry about it too much. Look for "The Revenant" to clean up and take home at least 7-8 awards if not more and its definitely finally going to be the night for Leonardo DiCaprio.
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